Galla Placidia

Princess captured by the Visigoths who later ruled the Western Roman Empire as regent.

Life

Daughter of an emperor

Galla Placidia was the daughter of the emperor Theodosius I. When Alaric sacked Rome in 410 CE, she was captured by the Visigoths and carried with them through Italy and Gaul.

Visigothic queen

In 414 CE she married Ataulf, Alaric's successor. After Ataulf was assassinated she was sent back to the Romans and forced to marry the general Constantius, bearing the later emperor Valentinian III.

Regent

In 425 CE her young son took the throne and she ruled as empress dowager and regent for more than ten years. In her later years she lived in Ravenna; the mausoleum named after her contains exquisite mosaics, a treasure of early Christian art. She died in 450 CE.

Legacy

Galla Placidia was one of the most powerful women of the late Western Roman Empire, living through an entire era in which the Roman and barbarian worlds were intertwined.

Did you know? The dome of the "Mausoleum of Galla Placidia" in Ravenna is covered in mosaics of gold stars on a deep blue ground, yet she is said not to have actually been buried there.

Key dates

• 410Captured by the Visigoths
• 414Married the Visigothic king Ataulf
• 425Son takes the throne; serves as regent
• 450Died